Nursing homes in New York, with restriction, began opening on July 15 for in-person visits. While this is good news, many families with loved ones in nursing homes are concerned that their family members are not receiving quality care in nursing homes. The federal government began providing nursing home ratings to help people select a nursing home for their loved one. Five-stars are the highest rating that a nursing home can receive, while one star is the lowest. Even if a facility receives a one-star rating, it is considered to have adequate staff to meet residential needs including meals, medications, and necessary treatments. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provides this rating system so that people can easily and quickly compare nursing homes.
This nursing home ratings system also helps to identify nursing homes about which questions should be asked. Unfortunately, while the Nursing Home Reform Act requires all nursing homes to provide the highest level of care to all residents, not all facilities can reach this standard. Currently, more than 100 nursing homes in New York have a one-star rating.
The Medicare and Medicaid Five-Star Rating System
In 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service introduced a five-star system for nursing home ratings. The system assigns nursing homes a rating between 1 and 5. While nursing homes with a five-star rating are classified as much higher than average quality homes, one-star homes are classified as having a quality well below average. Ratings are based on three sources, which include the following:
● Health inspections, which include the three most recent health inspections as well as investigations conducted as a result of complaints. Details about health inspections come from trained and objective inspectors who perform onsite reviews to gather specific details about how nursing homes are run.
● Staff rating at nursing homes, which is influenced by the number of hours of service provided by each staff member. This rating is influenced by the different levels of care that residents require.
● Quality measures, which are based on 15 different clinical and physical measures for nursing home residents. These measures provide details about how well nursing homes care for the clinical and physical needs of nursing home residents.
New York Nursing Homes That Received a Low Rating
The New York nursing homes that received a one-star rating during the review include the following:
● Absolute Center for Nursing & Rehab Bethany Gardens Skilled Living Center
● Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
● Brighton Manner
● Campbell Hall Rehabilitation Center Inc.
● Cooperstown Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing
● Cuba Memorial Hospital Inc.
● Elderwood of Uihlein at Lake Placid
● Evergreen Commons Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
● Highland Nursing Home Inc.
● Jennie B Richmond Chaffee Nursing Home Company Inc.
● Livingston Hills Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
● Meadowbrook Healthcare
● Nassau Rehabilitation & Nursing Center
● Oak Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center
● Park Gardens Rehabilitation & Nursing Center LLC
● Pontiac Nursing Home
● Putnam Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
● River View Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center
● Robinson Terrace
● Samaritan Senior Village Inc.
● Teresian House Nursing Home Company Inc.
● The Citadel Rehab and Nursing Center at Kingsbridge
● The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing
● The Shore Winds LLC
● Troy Center for Rehabilitation and nursing
● Warren Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing
● Westchester Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing
Data Gathered From Nursing Home Investigations
One of the nursing homes that received a one-star rating by the review is the Onondaga Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing, which commenters said did not have an adequate nursing staff to provide sufficient services to maintain the highest level of mental, physical, and psychological healthiness for all 76 residents. The location’s score emphasizes the critical point that the number one reason nursing homes receive low ratings is due to the inadequate staffing.
Risk Factors for Elder Abuse
Some older adults are at risk of being harmed because they are dependents on others for care. Demand for care versus self-care abilities places these individuals at greatest risk of harm. When an elderly person suffers from cognitive impairment, such as dementia, they become simultaneously more difficult to care for, and less able to remember and report abuse when it occurs. These individuals are often targets of elder abuse and neglect.
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
One of the best ways to keep a loved one safe from nursing home abuse is to remain observant of the signs that he or she is being harmed. Some of the following signs to look for to detect whether a loved one is being abused include:
● Caregiver neglect. This category of abuse involves caregivers who fail to provide an adequate level of care to nursing home abuse. Some of the most common signs of this type of abuse include leaving the senior citizen alone at a public location, not bathing senior citizens, unsafe living conditions, letting bedsores arise because senior citizens are not regularly turned, and unsuitably dressing senior citizens for weather conditions.
● Emotional abuse. Some of the most common signs that a loved one is the victim of elder abuse include controlling or threatening behavior by caregivers as well as unusual behavior in the senior citizen, such as mumbling or rocking back and forth.
● Financial exploitation. Nursing home residents are at increased risk of this type of abuse. Some of the most common signs that a nursing home resident is being financially abused include adding names for withdrawals from the individual’s bank accounts, changes in the individual’s financial situation, changes to estate planning documents, and unexplained withdrawals from the individual’s bank account.
● Healthcare fraud. Some of the most common signs that a caregiver is guilty of healthcare fraud include giving a loved one too much medication, having duplicate bills for the same services, having insufficient staff, lacking adequate staff training, or any other signs of poor care.
● Physical abuse. Some of the most common signs of physical abuse include broken eyeglasses, bruises, failure to adequately take medication, scars, signs of restraint, and unexplained broken bones or sprains.
● Sexual abuse. Nursing home residents are at elevated risk of sexual abuse. Signs of abuse can include bruising around the genital, bloody or torn underwear, and unexplained STDs.
Speak with a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Protect your loved one and know the nursing home ratings system. If you or a loved one has suffered abuse at a nursing home, an experienced attorney can help. Contact the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP today to schedule a free case evaluation.
